[Phogg]

This thread is reminding me of the muscle car mentality of sixties and seventies American Auto manufacturers.
They and a portion of the car buying public insisted that the public wanted ONLY ever bigger and faster cars. That there would never be more than a tiny niche market at best for anything different.

Then Honda and Toyota managed to wedge a few fuel efficient cars with a 250,000 mile engine life into the market. After people saw their neighbors drive the same car for seven or eight years with little maintenance the absurd insistence that car buyers unilaterally desired huge guzzlers began to garnish the ridicule it had always deserved.

Absolutely there is a market for devices designed to last. It's not the whole market, but it's a significant market.

I still use my Aztak Pocket Pro sometimes. And my Sony PRS-350.

I would like to see a premium ereader focused on durability and longevity as well as esthetics and screen quality.

Weather proofing.
Replaceable battery.
Rigid aluminum frame including transparent aluminum faceplate.
Flexible substrate.
Solar and inductive charging.
I think the buttons on the first Voyage would be fine if there were a pronounced ridge over them and strong hap tic feedback.